The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development launched the Rental Assistance Demonstration Thursday to support public and subsidized housing initiatives that lack strong capital support.

In Obama’s upcoming term, RAD should preserve and improve more than 13,000 units of affordable housing, which will generate more than $650 million in private capital to address the $26 billion backlog currently that public housing authorities are currently facing. It is expected that this extra capital will also assist employment in the construction trades across the U.S.

HUD awarded 112 initial commitments to 68 public housing authorities. Local housing agencies will be able to seek private financing to help renovate these units that are otherwise at risk of being placed outside of the affordable housing inventory.

Additionally, HUD approved the requests of 11 private owners of assisted housing projects to convert and extend rental assistance contracts for 1,100 units. Together, both announcements today will preserve the expected 13,000 units for the next 20 years.

"With the initial implementation of RAD, the Obama Administration has begun to demonstrate that public-private partnership can help preserve our nation's affordable housing and create jobs in the process," Donovan said.

This month inHousingWire magazine

The appraisal industry is in the midst of huge disruption as automated valuation models and hybrid appraisal products gain favor with regulators and investors. What does the future hold for appraisers and appraisal companies as they adjust to the new realities of automation?

Feature

[Free HousingWire Magazine read] As Millennials grapple with paying off student loans, their opportunity to buy a home gets pushed further and further into the future. That delay has consequences far beyond individual students — the growing student debt crisis impacts every part of the economy.

Commentary

There has been a conscious and rapid shift to broaden the use of alternative valuation products for origination. Not every decision needs a $500, full-blown 1004 interior appraisal. And in some markets where appraisers are short in number, the turn times can stretch from days to weeks. What these new alternative — some would say disruptive — valuation products do is enable lenders and servicers to better match the product to the risk by harnessing big data and technology.